1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to systems and methods for loading video content, and more particularly to systems and methods that load more than one video at the same time.
2. Description of the Related Art
All web servers are capable of progressive download. This is merely the method of delivering a video file via HTTP to a browser on the client side. The process is similar to downloading a file from any website but the difference is that media players can begin to play the video while it is downloading rather than having to wait until the entire video has been downloaded.
When a video is being delivered via HTTP progressive download, typically one sees the buffer bar grow as the video downloads. One is not able to watch the video if the scrubber button is moved past the amount that has downloaded already. This makes it impossible to jump to the end of the video. If the site has a slow web server or limited bandwidth, or the end user is on a slow Internet connection, then the end user will notice buffering. Buffering occurs when the download can't stay ahead of the video playback. In this instance, the video will stop and only after the player will download an additional portion of the video will the playing resume. If the user pauses the video and allows the downloading of a large portion of the video, the user will likely watch the video uninterrupted.
In almost all progressive downloading, there will be a certain amount of preloading, which means that a certain amount of video data is loaded, before the start of playback. Some players will begin to play a video as soon as a small amount of data is received and some will wait until the entire file is downloaded before it plays (in order to prevent buffering).
Current methods load the entire video and just one video is provided. Only after the video is finished playing can another one be loaded.
There is a need to provide improved systems and methods for loading videos. There is a further need for loading more than one video at a time.